Part Four-

Carlos had just sat down to with a plate of corndogs at the small upraised bar in front of the sink when Kendall came through the front door. He looked up in surprise before smiling widely at the other boy, "Hey, Kendall!" It had been almost a week since Carlos had told Kendall that he liked someone. He had expected Kendall to press him for a name or some kind of hint but Kendall hadn't even mentioned it again. Carlos didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but it made him feel heavy either way, like Kendall didn't care.

"Hey," Kendall said, smiling back and walked over to him, leaning against the counter beside him.

Carlos nudged his plate a little towards Kendall, "You want one?"

Kendall looked down at the corndogs thoughtfully before he shook his head, "Nah, I'm good."

Carlos shrugged and pulled the plate back to himself, "Suit yourself."

Kendall chuckled and Carlos could feel him watching him closely. He wondered if he had something on his face and when Kendall didn't say anything else he couldn't take it anymore. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing," Kendall said shaking his head, corners of his mouth upturned slightly.

Carlos narrowed his eyes slightly and gave Kendall a suspicious look before he grabbed a corndog and took a bite.

"So, I was wondering about this guy you like," Kendall said, breaking the small lull that had developed between them.

Carlos paused mid-chew, eyes widening as he looked at Kendall in surprise. He slowly lowered the corndog back onto the plate, heart suddenly thundering in his chest and swallowing the lump of food in his mouth, choked out a "What about him?"

"Well, what's he like? Is he cool?" Kendall ducked his head slightly, before looking up at Carlos from under his fringe. He seemed almost nervous which made no sense to Carlos who couldn't think of any reason for Kendall to be nervous.

Carlos looked down at his food, tapping his finger against the countertop. He couldn't just ignore the question, it would just make Kendall suspicious and he'd only press harder for information. He cleared his throat softly and shrugged slightly, trying to keep his cool, "Sometimes. But he can be a really big dork too. But that's what I like about him," Carlos said, face heating up as he looked up at the blond. "Why?"

Kendall shrugged and looked away, "No reason. Just curious."

Carlos studied Kendall curiously for a long moment before shrugging it off and continued eating.

Carlos sat down at the end of the couch, freshly out of the shower. He let out a small sigh as he leaned back, ready to relax and watch TV until it was time for bed. He glanced over as Kendall moved and watched as the blond swung his feet onto Carlos' lap, lying back along the couch. "Massage my feet, Carlos," he said, wiggling his toes a little.

Carlos wrinkled his nose slightly, "What? No, that's gross."

"Aww, come on, they're clean. I just washed them!"

Carlos laughed, "No way," he said, pushing Kendall's feet off his lap.

"Please? I'll do you if you do me."

Carlos almost choked at the implications of that statement. Even though he knew Kendall didn't mean it that way, he couldn't help but think of all the ways he'd love to do Kendall anyway. He cleared his throat and made the mistake of looking at Kendall's face. He had that kicked puppy dog expression on that they all seemed to have mastered but still haven't become immune to. "Please. I'll love you forever!"

Carlos laughed, "You'll love me forever anyway, right?"

Kendall grinned, "Probably."

Carlos rolled his eyes, "Fine, give 'em here," he said, patting his thighs.

Kendall beamed and quickly picked his feet up, placing one in Carlos' lap as the other continued further up to press against Carlos' cheek, "You're the best."

"Ack! What the fuck, don't put your nasty ass feet in my face!"

"Oh, be quiet, you love it," Kendall persisted, wiggling his foot a little.

Carlos made exaggerated noises of disgust and reached up to pinch Kendall's calf. "Ouch, ouch, okay, ow, I'll stop," Kendall yelped as he snatched his foot away from Carlos' grasp. They both sent each other a dirty look before they broke out into a grin at the same time.

"Gimme your foot," Carlos said, trying to sound more exasperated than he felt. He gestured with one hand and Kendall slowly let his foot fall back down to its place beside his other. Carlos hesitated a moment before he placed one hand on Kendall's ankle and wrapped his other around Kendall's foot. This was the first time he'd ever touched Kendall's feet and Kendall had been in the shower just before him so they were still kind of soft. He'd never given a foot massage before; he wasn't even sure where to begin.

He pressed the pad of his thumb in the arch of Kendall's foot and glided his thumb down to Kendall's heel. Kendall made a small noise and he glanced up quickly, hands flying away from Kendall's foot. "Did that hurt?"

Kendall chuckled and shook his head, "No, you're good. Keep going."

Carlos gave a short nod of his head and wrapped both hands around Kendall's foot this time, rubbing small circles into ball of his foot. Everything narrowed down to his hands and Kendall's foot, thumbs pressing gently in small circles. He ignored the small noises of pleasure Kendall emitted and put all his thoughts and energy into not getting a boner from it all. He didn't want to have to go through that again and this time he didn't have the excuse of adrenaline to fall back on.

Kendall's entire leg jerked as he pressed his thumb into the heel of his foot almost kicking him in the face. Carlos quickly released Kendall's foot, hands held up in surprise, "Oh, god," Kendall moaned softly.

The sound went straight to Carlos' groin and he swallowed thickly, "What's-what's wrong?"

Kendall shook his head and took a deep breath, "Nothing, nothing. That just felt reallygood."

Carlos arched an eyebrow and swiped his thumb along the same spot, pressing in with the same amount of pressure as before. Kendall's reaction was almost immediate, "Oh, fuck." Kendall panted slightly, eyes screwed shut for a moment, "Seriously, don't do that again."

Carlos tilted his head to the side in confusion, "I thought you said it felt good."

Kendall shifted on the couch, reaching back to fix the pillow under his head, "Yeah, it felt a little toogood, if you know what I mean…"

It took a moment but Carlos eventually got what Kendall meant. "Oh!"

Kendall scratched at the side of his nose and chuckled softly, "Yeah…"

They fell into an awkward silence where all Carlos could do was think of all the different ways he could make Kendall feel good, face flushing slightly. He quickly shook the thoughts away, concentrating on rubbing Kendall's feet, resisting the urge to slide his hands up along Kendall's calf, then thigh, then-

He swallowed and pushed the thoughts away, taking a deep breath to try to calm his thundering heart. It was so not the time to be thinking about that, especially with Kendall's feet right in his lap.

"So, how's it going with that guy?"

Carlos looked up in surprise, "Huh?"

Kendall chuckled softly, "Have you figured out if he's gay or not?"

"Oh, um, no. Seems awkward to just come right out and ask, ya know?"

Kendall nodded, "Yeah, I guess. It'd be easier if he was a girl."

Carlos shrugged slightly, "Probably. But I wouldn't change him for anything," he said softly, feeling his face heat up. He glanced up and found Kendall smiling at him strangely, almost sadly and cleared his throat, "Anyway, what's the sudden interest in my love life?"

Kendall shrugged, "Just curious. I figured one of us should at least be happy."

Carlos stopped, thumbs pressing into the bottom of Kendall's foot sharply. Kendall winced and he quickly jerked his hands away, "You aren't happy?"

Kendall squirmed slightly under his gaze and sighed softly, "Well, yeah, of course, I'm happy. I just meant, it'd be nice if one of us had someone."

Carlos studied Kendall, knowing that wasn't what he had meant at all but he didn't want to push it. "Right…"

Kendall cleared his throat, "And this guy is apparently the oneexception to your rule. He's gotta be pretty special, right? You can't blame me for wanting to know who he is."

Carlos smiled shyly and ducked his head, "Yeah, he is pretty special."

Kendall lifted his foot and poked Carlos in the cheek with his big toe, "Does he have dreamy eyes and a rock-hard bod?"

Carlos laughed and pinched the little toe of Kendall's other foot, "Maybe. Or maybe he's just a giant, lanky dork with a weird looking face."

Kendall stared at him and Carlos looked away, cursing himself for being stupid. But Kendall didn't say anything which was probably worse than anything else. Carlos swallowed and not knowing what else to do, he resumed rubbing Kendall's feet, thumb pressing into the ball of Kendall's foot.

He only looked up when Kendall finally spoke, "Sounds like a real catch." The words sounded like they were supposed to be teasing but Kendall's voice came out more stilted than anything else.

Carlos nodded, sure that he had given it away. Kendall knew but didn't feel the same so now everything was going to be awkward. It was going to be the big giant pink elephant in the room that everyone saw but didn't mention. "Yeah, he is…" he said softly, face feeling too hot. He cleared his throat and decided to change the subject. "So, what about you? You think you could ever fall for a guy?"

Kendall shrugged slightly, "I don't know. I'd like to think that I wouldn't matter as long as I loved them and they loved me, ya know?"

Carlos glanced up and swallowed when he caught Kendall's eyes. They stared at each other for a few moments before it became too much for Carlos and he averted his gaze, looking back down at Kendall's feet. "Yeah, I know."

Carlos bound into the apartment, two smoothies in hand. His eyes immediately focused in on Kendall sitting on the couch and he beamed, "Hey, Kendall! What's up? I brought you a smoothie. Strawberry. Your favorite, right?"

"Thanks," Kendall said shortly, glancing up at Carlos briefly before turning back toward the television. It wasn't on.

Carlos frowned and set the two cups on the table, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You sound like you're kind of angry," Carlos pushed tentatively. Kendall had been fine that morning, happy even. Things hadn't gotten as awkward as Carlos thought it'd get between them. It' been almost two weeks and Kendall seemed to have dropped the subject altogether. He didn't ask about the guy Carlos liked anymore and while Carlos was a little bummed about it, he didn't let it get him down. He and Kendall spent pretty much all of their spare time together and the blond seemed happy. That was all Carlos really needed.

So he was really confused with Kendall's current behavior. Maybe Jo had tried to call him again, he reasoned with himself.

Kendall shrugged, but his jaw was clenched and he was glaring at the blank TV screen. "Why would I be angry? It's not like my best friend liedto me or anything?"

Okay, so maybe not Jo. James or Logan instead. He wondered what either of the boys had done to piss Kendall off. "Who lied to you?"

Kendall suddenly flew to his feet, spinning around to face Carlos and flung his arms out, "You did! You lied to me!"

Carlos' eyes widened and he took a step back, shaking his head, "What? No, I didn't! When?"

Kendall jabbed his finger in the air angrily at Carlos, "You said you didn't want anyone to know who you liked but James and Logan know!"

Carlos immediately began to panic, his heart pounding in his chest, "Did they-did they tell you?"

"No," Kendall said petulantly, bottom lip protruding slightly and he looked away, "But they laughed at me and James called me an idiot. James!" Kendall once again flung his arms out in outrage, causing Carlos to laugh both in relief and because Kendall seemed really indignant about James calling him an idiot. Kendall scowled, "It's not funny, Carlos. Why did you lie to me?"

Kendall seemed to deflate then and Carlos knew that he had really hurt him. Carlos sighed, "I didn't. I didn't lie, okay? I didn't want Logan or James to know either, but they found out and…"He shrugged as he trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"Then why keep it a secret from me? If they both know, why didn't you just tell me?"

Carlos hated that betrayed tone in Kendall's voice. He hated even more that he was the one that put it there. He closed his eyes tightly, "I can't, Kendall. You'll hate me."

Kendall scoffed, "I could never hate you, Carlos. Just tell me!"

"I can't!"

"Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do! It's just-"

"Then why? Is it someone I hate?" Kendall's eyes widened and his face screwed up in disgust, "God, is it Jett?"

Carlos' eyes widened and he made a face in return, "No way! It's not Jett."

"Then who?" Kendall had been moving forward, closing the distance between them with each exchange of words until he was standing directly in front of Carlos, staring down at him earnestly. Carlos looked up at him, regretting it the moment he saw the sad expression on Kendall's face. He hated denying the blond anything, but the thought of Kendall rejecting him scared him. He knew he needed to say somethingthough.

"I can't- It's just- I don't-" Words fumbled out of his mouth and he didn't even know what he wanted to say. He looked up into Kendall's expectant face and did the only thing he could think of. Reaching up quickly and grabbing Kendall by the back of the neck, he ignored the look of surprise on the other boy's face and yanked him down. He leaned up as he did so and met Kendall's lips with his own in a brief, soft kiss. "It's you, okay? I like you," he said and let Kendall go, stepping away as he looked down as their shoes.

"Oh…"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-" He glanced up as he started to speak, only for his words to die in his throat as Kendall reached forward, hand landing on the side of his neck, thumb resting against his jaw. He blinked up at Kendall, breath growing heavy as the blond closed the distance between them, tilting Carlos' head up slightly as he leaned down, pressing their lips together again.

The kiss was just as brief as the first, Kendall's lips gently pressing against Carlos' before he pulled away, "I like you too," he said breathlessly.

Carlos blinked in surprise, "Since-since when?"

"Since you told me you liked someone and it felt like someone punched me in the chest. Why do you think I've been trying to figure out who it was? I wanted to put a face to the guy I hated. But apparently I've been hating myself," Kendall grinned as he finished, a dopey expression on his face that made Carlos' chest swell with affection.

He grinned widely and pulled Kendall down again, lips meeting once more. This kiss was different than the others, though, more urgent, lips moving against each other with a purpose as hands found Carlos' waist and squeezed gently. Kendall pressed forward, hands guiding Carlos stumbling backwards until the back of his legs hit the couch. He grunted in surprise and pulled away, panting lightly as he glanced over his shoulder quickly.

Kendall turned Carlos face back towards him and cupped Carlos' face in both hands. Carlos reached up and wrapped his hands around Kendall's wrists as Kendall caressed his cheeks with his thumbs, "So, it was really me this whole time?"

Carlos chuckled, "Who else could it have been?"

"I thought-I thought maybebut I didn't want to get my hopes up."

"James is right."

"What?"

"You really are an idiot."

Kendall laughed, one hand sliding around to cup the back of Carlos' neck as he leaned down, lips meeting Carlos' once more. His other hand slid down to wrap around Carlos' waist, pulling him flush against Kendall's body. They both moaned softly at the contact and Carlos clutched at the back of Kendall's shirt, fisting the fabric tightly as Kendall tilted his head back further.

Carlos couldn't believe this was happening. Kendall wanted him, Kendall likedhim. He kept waiting to wake up or for Kendall to push him away and laugh at him. But it was too vivid to be a dream and he knew Kendall would never mess with his emotions like that.

Kendall pulled away with a small gasp a moment later and Carlos reached back, glancing over his shoulder briefly until he clutched at the back of the couch with one hand and lowered himself. He grabbed onto the hem of Kendall's shirt, tugging gently to pull the blond down with him. He lay back, feet still firmly on the ground and Kendall climbed on top of him, knees hugging Carlos' hips as he leaned over him. Carlos licked his lips nervously as Kendall placed his hands on either side of his head and leaned down.

"So you really think my face is weird looking?"

Carlos blinked then chuckled, not expecting Kendall to bring that up at that exact moment. He brought his hand up, forefinger and thumb held an inch apart, "Just a little," he said then chuckled again at the indignant noise Kendall made. He reached up and ran his fingertip along the bridge of Kendall's nose, "I like your face though," he added, cupping the side of Kendall's face gently as he leaned up to capture his lips in a kiss once more. He felt Kendall smile against his mouth, before he felt Kendall part his lips, tongue sliding along Carlos' bottom lip.

Carlos felt a rush of warmth gather low in his stomach as Kendall's tongue slipped between his parted lips, tentatively brushing against his own. He let out a small noise and clutched at Kendall's waist, shifting slightly under the other boy. He heard Kendall chuckle before he pulled away, placing a kiss on his cheek, then another on his jaw. Carlos turned his face to the side as Kendall kissed down his neck, letting out a small moan, fingers digging into Kendall's sides as the blond sucked gently on his collar bone.

Kendall pulled away suddenly, caressing the side of Carlos' neck with his thumb, "This is the first time you've done something like this, huh?"

Carlos swallowed thickly and nodded, "Yeah, kinda."

"If I'm going too fast, tell me. We can slow down."

Carlos huffed out a laugh, "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this, you're definitely notgoing too fast."

Kendall chuckled, smiling down at Carlos softly before he swooped down to reconnect their lips.

Carlos didn't know how long they stayed on the couch kissing like that, but before he knew it, he could hear the door opening and James and Logan voices' halting abruptly. Kendall immediately rolled off of him, standing up and adjusting his clothes while Carlos sat up, blinking in bewilderment until he focused on James and Logan grinning at them.

"So you've finally pulled your head out of your ass, huh, Kendall?"

"Shut it, James," Kendall grumbled making Carlos chuckle lightly as he got to his feet. He reached out and grasp onto Kendall's hand, looking up at Kendall as he slotted their fingers together. Kendall smiled down at him and gently squeezed his hand.

"I guess slow and steady wins the race after all. Told you, James," Logan said, elbowing James gently in the arm.

"Shut up, Logan. My plan would've worked too," James groused, sending them all a sullen look.

Kendall laughed, "What plan?"

"Tight pants," Carlos said, grinning widely.

Kendall arched an eyebrow as he looked down at Carlos before he slowly turned to face James and Logan questioningly, "Tight pants?"

"Tell me, Kendall, does Carlos not have a great ass or what? These two think I'm weird," James said gesturing in annoyance at Logan and Carlos.

"Can we not talk about my butt right now?" Carlos glanced up at Kendall, a blush spreading across his face when the other boy leaned back to look behind him, brows raised curiously. He quickly reached back and placed his hands over his butt, turning away from the blond.

Kendall arched an eyebrow at him and grinned, "Let me see it."

"No, you'll just encourage James' weirdness."

"I'm not being weird! It's perfectly okay for a guy to check out another guy's ass. I'll check out anyone's ass that I want to! I will not be subdued by society!"

Logan stared at James incredulously, brows furrowed as he shook his head slightly, "Do you even hearthe words coming out of your mouth?"

Kendall laughed and leaned down to whisper, "I'll just see it later, you know." Carlos looked away from the other two boys and found Kendall grinning at him. He still couldn't believe that this was happening, that Kendall actually wanted him. And as embarrassing as it was, he was actually happy that Kendall wanted to check him out, just not in front of James and Logan.

"So, do you think we'll have to switch rooms now," Logan suddenly said and everyone stopped to look at him.

Carlos' eyes widened, his stomach twisting into a knot, "Why would we have to switch rooms?"

"Well, I don't think Mrs. Knight will want you two in the same room now that you're, you know, together."

Carlos looked at Kendall and caught his eye. He'd never thought about it before because the idea of Kendall returning his feelings had seemed so impossible. "I don't see why it should matter," Kendall said slowly, turning to look at the other two, "I mean, it's not like we're going to have sex with her right down the hall or anything."

"Well, just in case, I call dibs on Kendall," James said.

Logan turned towards James, brows furrowed in annoyance, "What? You can't call dibs on Kendall."

"Uh, hello, I just did."

"Fuck you, I call dibs on Kendall," Logan said, shoving at James' chest. James stumbled back slightly, a shocked look on his face before he shoved at Logan in return.

Carlos pouted as he watched the two boys' argument slowly turn into a physical fight. He wondered why neither of them seemed to want to room with him. He was fun, right? He looked up when Kendall laughed and suddenly his hand was in the blonds once more, fingers laced together, "Come on," he said, pulling Carlos behind him as he walked around the other two boys and led the way to their room.

Once inside, Kendall closed and locked the door, turning around to lean on it. He watched him for a second until Carlos felt his face heat up in a warm blush, "What," he questions, fidgeting slightly.

Kendall grinned and pushed away from the door, closing the distance between them to place his hand on Carlos' waist, "So…how long have you liked me?"

Carlos smiled, reaching up to lightly trace Kendall's jaw, "I've always loved you, Kendall."

Kendall's brows disappeared into his hair, his eyes widening slightly, "Love," he repeated questioningly, tone heavy with disbelief.

Carlos blushed, but he wasn't ashamed and he didn't care if Kendall knew how deep his feelings were, "Yeah, love. I love you," he said, a small smile on his face.

Kendall stared down at him until Carlos' smile faded and his heart was pounding in his chest, anticipating a rejection of some kind. But then Kendall smiled and swooped down, capturing Carlos' lips with his own and everything was okay again. More than okay, actually, because Kendall wanted him and after years of being satisfied with just being Kendall's friend, Carlos finally had a chance at making Kendall happy the way he wanted to. And that's all that Carlos wanted because as long as Kendall was happy, nothing else mattered.